Blue Ridge Tags TiVo

Blue Ridge Communications has picked TiVo as its exclusive provider of next-generation whole home video technology as it gears up for an initial deployment in early 2014.

Blue Ridge, an operator that serves parts of southeastern and northeastern Pennsylvania, is the second operator to commit to the T6, a new whole-home gateway DVR that shares many of the traits found in TiVo’s new “Roamio” retail product line. Atlantic Broadband was the first cable operator to announce plans to deploy the T6, an MSO-optimized version of TiVo’s Roamio Plus model (pictured above) that sports six tuners, a CableCARD slot, and integrated video transcoding.

Blue Ridge will market the T6 along with the TiVo Preview (an HD set-top for non-DVR households), the TiVo Mini (an IP-only box), and the TiVo Stream, a stand-alone video transcoding device that can send live and recorded video to mobile devices on the home network. Both the T6 and the TiVo Stream have the ability to stream video outside the home, though it was not immediately known if Blue Ridge will use that option.

The MSO will also tap into the TiVo web portal and allow customers to use TiVo mobile apps for iOS and Android devices.

“Through this partnership with TiVo, our customers will receive the great content and great experience they deserve and we are confident that in return, our business will reap the benefits of improved subscriber satisfaction,” Mark Masenheimer, VP of operations for Blue Ridge Communications, said in a statement.